


then i suddenly see you (did i tell you i need you)

by niallszayn



Series: got to get you into my life [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Uni AU, zayn falls in love at first sight of the nipple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2018-01-18 01:23:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1409833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallszayn/pseuds/niallszayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>zayn never thought a fratboy could be his type, but boy does he want to see niall again</p>
            </blockquote>





	then i suddenly see you (did i tell you i need you)

**Author's Note:**

> this is zayn's pov of part 1 (plus a bit more that happens after the end of it) and i guess you could read it standing alone, but you might get a bit confused around the middle so i suggest you read part 1 first :)  
> this too has been on tumblr for a bit but i only decided to make this a series today, i hope you like it! :)

Louis was probably Zayn's best choice as a partner for this project, considering he actually did some of the work and gave clever input (plus the fact that they were already friends and this wasn't the first project they'd done together), so Zayn didn’t mind pairing up with him at all. The only problem he had with it was that he'd actually had to give in to Louis' constant nagging and go to his frat house to work on their project.

He loved Liam and he was happy for him, Sophia was a lovely girl and they didn't see each other nearly enough, so he happily gave them their privacy by staying clear of his and Liam's shared room. But why did this have to fall on the one day where he and Louis really needed to work on their project? Frat houses made him uncomfortable. He'd had some bad experiences with them, thanks to him being a naïve 16-year-old who fell for an older guy’s sweet talk, which had led to some experiences he hadn’t really wanted to make that way. And although that had been a long time ago and he'd actually made friends with some frat guys (mainly Louis), he still couldn't say frats were his favourite thing in the world.

So he had been slightly on edge the whole time he'd been there, trying not to show Louis.

They were sat at the big table in the kitchen of the frat house, books and papers spread out around them, and they were mostly left alone. Every now and then someone would walk in to grab something from the fridge, but they rarely acknowledged them at all. 

He and Louis didn't talk that much either, too focused on their respective parts of the project to hold a conversation that went beyond the occasional remark.

And then, suddenly, Zayn heard someone bounding down the stairs, and saw them stumbling into the kitchen from the corner of his eye.

"Oh" he heard, and turned his head to the side to see who had spoken.

And wow. Zayn felt a bit like he had just been hit by a train as he took in the boy in the middle of the kitchen, dressed in what Zayn considered a bare minimum.

He was blond and blue eyed, his shoulders muscular – nicely showed off by the flimsy tank top he was wearing – while he still looked lanky and kind of small. Zayn felt like protecting him and pushing him up against the next wall to ravish him at the same time.

The boy was staring at Zayn with wide eyes, a blush creeping up his cheeks and down to his chest, which unfortunately trained Zayn’s eyes on his right nipple that was visible thanks to the crooked neckline of his top.

Zayn stared a bit more, barely taking in what the boy was stuttering, his eyes only snapping back up to these insanely blue eyes when he caught on to what the blond was saying. He was gonna leave.

Zayn felt the irrational urge to reach out to him, say something, _do anything_ to make him stay, but he didn't. Instead, he just stared after him as he turned around and left the kitchen just as quickly as he had come. (And no, of course Zayn was not checking out his perky little bum.)

"Who was _that_?" he asked a little breathlessly once they were alone again.

Louis looked at him funny. "What's gotten into you? That was Niall, I've told you about him before."

Niall. The name stirred a memory in Zayn's brain and he thought _Yeah, you've told me about him_. But from what Louis had said, he'd imagined someone else entirely. The way Louis had described him, Zayn had imagined Niall as a not particularly bright, party and alcohol obsessed self-centred twat, and not this angel. Because that was all he could think, that Niall had been an angel or a ray of sunshine walking into the room. It'd felt like that for him.

" _That_ was Niall?" he made sure, not wanting to believe it. "That guy is the same one you've been telling me all the scandalous stories about?"

Louis sighed. "I feel like my stories might've given you a wrong impression of Niall" he started. "He's a really sweet guy, actually. Not usually as shy as just now - I'm not sure what that was all about to be honest - but he's also not your classic party animal. He's a people person, I'll give him that much, and he does like a good party. But once you've become his friend, he's a really caring guy, and like fiercely loyal. I've seen him defend friends, mate, you wouldn't wanna get in his way."

"Oh, cool" Zayn said, trying to downplay his reaction to that description. He just couldn't get Niall's blue eyes out of his head, and now apparently those eyes belonged to a good character too? He could've kicked himself for dodging every chance to meet Niall so far. If only he'd known what he'd been missing out on.

He'd been attracted to guys before, and immediately so, but he'd never been as fascinated by anyone as he was by Niall.

There'd just been something about him, maybe radiating off him, that made Zayn feel an inexplicable pull towards him, the need to explore this feeling, find out how a boy could look like sunshine incarnated.

"Zayn? Zayn!" Louis' voice suddenly cane through to him, making him wonder how he'd been ignoring his friend for. "Where's your head at suddenly? We've got a project to finish! We're so close, don't get difficult on me now."

"Yeah" Zayn muttered, "yeah, sorry. I was just...let's get this done, 'kay?"

They did finish the project relatively quickly, despite Zayn being very inattentive at times, paying more attention to the sound of steps on the stairs than to the words in his books, head snapping towards the door each time, dropping disappointed when it wasn't Niall.

Zayn was ready to vehemently deny he was trying to stall the project in hopes of seeing Niall again, but Louis didn’t even ask. He just kept sighing and sent a few dirty glances Zayn’s way.

And then they were done, Zayn trying to swallow his disappointment, unwilling to leave yet. Niall could come down any minute after all. So he stayed put in his chair in the kitchen of the frat house, ignoring Louis’ obvious confusion shining through everything he said.

“You’re weird today, Zayners” Louis said finally. “First, you’re all grumpy because you had to come here, then you got all shiny-eyed and excited for a bit and now you’re grumpy again but you’re not leaving? What is going on?”

Zayn shrugged, trying to hide his blush. Had he been this obvious?

“You’ve been acting weird since…oh.” Louis grinned mischievously and Zayn shot him a warning glance.

“Lou…”

“Since Niall came down! I knew your reaction to him was strange! You fancy him!”

“Shh” Zayn hushed, eyes darting to the door nervously. “Shut up, Louis!”

"You're not denying it" Louis observed.

"It'd still be great if you stopped yelling about it. I don't need the whole world to know. Or him." Zayn wasn't entirely sure when he'd made the decision to tell Louis about his stupid infatuation, but it must've happened somewhere along the way.

"Would you stop crying" Louis said in typical Louis manner. "From the way he acted I'd say the feeling is mutual."

"You think?" Zayn asked, trying to sound calmer than he felt. He was embarrassed about his heartbeat picking up at the mere possibility of Niall liking him, he hadn't even talked to the guy, for god's sake!

"I'd say it's likely. I could set you up, you know? Give you his number or something."

"No" Zayn said. "I don't know the guy, I won't ask you for his number. I'm sure I'll see him again sometime."

"And that's enough for you?" Louis asked, and the glint in his eyes made Zayn expect bad things. "I could just call loverboy down here, tell him he has a suitor..." He started getting up, but Zayn grabbed his arm.

"Don't you dare" he growled, trying to come off as intimidating despite of his blush. "Don't you dare tell him anything."

"Relax, big boy" Louis laughed. "I won't. All you can expect from me are relentless teasing and jokes about love at first sight."

"No, thanks" Zayn said, getting up and grabbing his bag. "I should get going anyway."

"You're just saying that because you don't want me to tease you anymore."

"So will you stop?"

"Hell no."

"Then I'm gonna leave."

"Fine" Louis said, faking a pout. "I'm gonna try and find out what Niall thinks about you, then. Knowing him, he'll wanna talk about it soon anyway."

Zayn groaned. "Don't you dare tell him anything, Louis, I'm warning you."

"Yeah, yeah, fine. It'll be fun to watch you two suffer for a while. I can already hear you whining about it" Louis grinned. " _'He's so pretty, how do I talk to him?'_ " he cried in a terrible imitation if Zayn's accent. " _'Louis, what do I do?'_ "

"Right" Zayn said, getting up. He felt as if his ears were on fire. "I'm going."

"See ya, Zayners!" Louis called, waggling his fingers in a mock wave. He knew exactly what he was doing, the bloody wanker.

Zayn took an almost hour-long walk to cool down before he headed over to his friend Danny's. He'd be sleeping on his sofa to give Liam and Sophia their privacy and himself some actual sleep.

-

"Why don't you just ask Louis for his number?" Liam asked over breakfast when Zayn still hadn't stopped talking about Niall two days after he'd returned to their dorm.

"I can't do that! He'd never let me forget it. Besides, I haven't even talked to him yet, he probably doesn't even remember me."

"Zayn" Liam started, sighing deeply. "You're the one who hasn't shut up about these texts for days, and if Louis was telling the truth I'd be pretty damn sure he hasn't forgotten you."

Zayn fought to keep the smile off his face at the mention of the series of texts he'd received from Louis not very long after he'd left the frat house.

**_Niall just came down hes makin food wait for it_ **

**_He asked y I didnt tell him id hav a fit guy over_ **

**_Now hes throwin a fit cuz he thinks he looked lk shit_ **

**_Gotta go but see told ya so_ **

Those had sounded pretty promising and he'd be lying if he hadn't been thinking about what he'd say to Niall if he met him again over the past three days.

And he'd looked for him, no matter where he was going, always looking out for the blond tips of his hair and those sparkling blue eyes. The sunshine smile.

Zayn had found Niall on Facebook, going through all of Louis' almost 2000 friends (he couldn't understand why anyone would even want to _know_ that many people - much less be Facebook friends with them) until he finally found him. Niall Horan.

According to his profile, he was doing sound engineering at uni, so Zayn researched where he'd most likely have his classes and walked along there whenever he could, feeling only slightly stalker-ish.

Three days in a row he spent a couple of minutes hanging around the building, but not once did he see Niall. He couldn't believe he was unlucky enough to always seem to find a time when the blond wasn't around.

And then, on that same third day, Zayn finally saw Niall again. It was Niall who found him, surprisingly, when he came from his American literature class with some of the people he hung out with after those lectures.

And Niall was waving at him.

Zayn could _feel_ the huge smile that made it onto his face, and maybe it was Niall's blindingly beautiful answering smile that made him actually have the courage to walk over there, telling himself to say exactly what he'd been practicing for the past three days.

"This is your one chance, don't fuck it up Malik" he could almost hear Louis say in his head.

Zayn didn't exactly know how it happened, but a few minutes later he had not only gotten Niall's phone number _and_ a date, but he was also holding his hand.

Like, properly holding his hand, still waiting for the sunshine boy to pull his away.

But he didn't, he just smiled at Zayn in a way that made the whole world brighten up.

"So" Niall said, "I was just gonna get coffee. Care to join me? Unless you're busy of course."

"No" Zayn replied quickly, finding it hard to concentrate when Niall was still holding his hand. "I'm not busy, I mean. And coffee sounds good."

"This wouldn't be a date, of course" Niall explained, turning his hand in Zayn's a little and lacing their fingers together. "I've got different plans for that."

Zayn smiled. "So what's this gonna be then?"

"Just two people getting to know each other, I guess. If that's alright with you."

"Stop thinking I'm gonna say no" Zayn laughed. "I just spent three days looking for you, I had _planned what I would say_ , I'm gonna take every minute with you I can get."

"I hope I can live up to your expectations, then."

"You've already disappointed me" Zayn said teasingly. "You're wearing far more clothes than last time."

Niall laughed and punched him in the arm.

-

One week later Zayn was walking Niall to class, as he had done almost every day. Liam said he was being unbearably sappy for a guy who had just started a relationship, but Zayn wanted to spend every possible minute with Niall. And he knew that Niall, who was currently pressed against his side, arm wrapped tightly around Zayn’s waist, felt the same.

So maybe they were moving a bit fast, it wasn’t as if Zayn hadn’t considered that possibility. After all it had taken them exactly three hours and two cups of coffee each to kiss for the first time. Still, it didn’t feel _too_ fast for Zayn. Everything had kind of been a whirlwind since he’d met Niall, but he liked it. He liked _Niall_.

He liked Niall’s soft hair, his blue eyes, his strong arms around him. He liked Niall’s soft lips and the touch of his calloused fingertips. He liked the sound of Niall quietly strumming his guitar, and the sound of his voice when he hummed along. He loved the sound of Niall’s laugh and the way it lit up his face and the whole room around them. He liked the things Niall said and those he didn’t. He liked the way Niall made him feel.

“What are you thinking about so intensely?” Niall asked, looking up at Zayn with warm eyes.

“You” Zayn answered simply, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Niall’s face seemed to get even softer. “You sap” he giggled, reaching up to cup Zayn’s cheek anyway. He stroked across Zayn’s cheekbone with his thumb softly before stretching up and pressing their lips together quickly.

Zayn pulled him closer and closed his eyes contently. Niall had this gift of making him forget where they were.

When they approached the room Niall’s class took place in a little later, people started greeting Niall enthusiastically. Zayn still wasn’t really used to how popular his boyfriend was, although he understood why everyone would want to know him.

Niall was nice to everyone, shouting and waving at people, stopping to talk to some of them. Zayn waited patiently, holding Niall's hand, every time. 

"So I've got a couple of people I'd like you to meet" Niall said, making Zayn rake his hand through his hair nervously. Meeting a new boyfriends' friends was usually crucial and scary as hell. 

Niall must've noticed - of course he would, he was the kind of guy who picked up on the slightest shift in moods - because he squeezed Zayn's hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, they won't bite. They'll love you." 

"You sure?" 

"Absolutely positive" Niall reassured him, and then they were there. 

A group of six people, if Zayn had counted correctly with nervously flitting eyes, four girls and two boys, were smiling at them, eyeing Zayn curiously. One of the boys was tall and very curly, and Zayn was pretty sure he'd met him before. He thought it might be Louis' friend Harry. 

"Hey guys" Niall started. "This is..." 

"Heeeyyy I know you!" one of the girls exclaimed suddenly, interrupting Niall by pointing at Zayn. "You're the guy I saw waiting around here a couple of times last week!" 

Zayn immediately flushed a bright red, his mouth opening and closing without anything coming out. He hadn't exactly told Niall he'd been nearly stalking him prior to talking to him for the first time. 

Niall made a sound that sounded an awful lot like cooing. "You were?" he asked, and stepped closer to Zayn, until their bodies were pressed up against each other. "Were you looking for me? Before we talked that one day?"  

His voice was low and so very sweet that Zayn lifted his eyes from the floor to look into Niall's, getting lost in the blue right away. 

"I might've?" he admitted, there really wasn't a point in denying it anymore anyway. "Does that creep you out?" 

"No" Niall said decisively, "I think it's insanely sweet." He pressed his lips to Zayn's cheek softly, and Zayn felt incredibly light suddenly, as if he could float away right then and there. 

"Anyway" Niall said louder, turning away from Zayn to face his friends, but staying close and keeping their finger intertwined. "This is my boyfriend Zayn, and I wanted you to meet him because you're gonna be seeing a lot of him." 

Zayn smiled, squeezing Niall's hand to show him he liked the sound of that. Niall squeezed back, nudging their shoulders together lightly. 

- 

Niall came over to Zayn's that night to watch a movie. This time, Zayn had kicked Liam out, which definitely had something satisfactory to it. 

"Hey" Niall said when Zayn opened the door, pecking him on the lips. "So I just met Liam when I left the house. He said he felt like hanging out with Louis, but I had a feeling it wasn't completely voluntary. Did you kick him out?" 

Zayn chuckled. "I might've gently reminded him of all the times I slept on my mate Danny's sofa whenever his girlfriend visits." 

Niall laughed. "I won't complain, that means we can put in a movie and not watch a minute of it." 

"What are you suggesting, mister?" Zayn grinned, tugging Niall closer by his belt loops. 

Niall stretched up to kiss the corner if his mouth. "Put in the movie and I'll show you." 

"That sounds awfully suggestive, babe." 

"Just hurry up, I've been wanting to kiss you all day." 

"Glad to hear we're on the same page" Zayn chuckled, pushing Niall towards his bed and moving to set up the film. 

When the DVD started, he hurried over to his bed, plopping down half on top of Niall and started mouthing along his jaw. "Care to show me what you were talking about earlier?" 

Niall hummed and brought one of his hands up to start playing with the hair at the nape of Zayn's neck. 

"One thing first though" he mumbled, his lips somewhere in the vicinity of Zayn's neck. "You're not the only stalker in this relationship." 

"Me? Stalker?!" Zayn tried to sound scandalised but it turned out a lot less convincing when his breath hitched in between because Niall was sucking a mark right under his jaw. 

"I'm not better" Niall's muffled voice came from somewhere underneath him and Zayn moved back a bit to look at his boyfriend. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"While you were waiting for me at my building, I was waiting for you in front of the languages building" Niall explained, and Zayn stared at him for a second before laughing loudly.

“What kind of couple are we” he laughed. “Stalking each other instead of doing it the easy way and having our mutual friend introduce us.”

“Dedicated, that’s what we are” Niall said, tugging on Zayn’s t-shirt impatiently. “But can you be a bit more dedicated to kissing me now?”

Zayn could.


End file.
